Fmr. Silicon Valley Bank VP Convicted Of Insider Trading Charged With Forging Sentencing References
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) - A former Silicon Valley bank vice-president convicted of insider trading and securities scam is facing new criminal charges for tampering, identity theft and criminal contempt after allegedly forging several character references to get a lighter sentence.
Mounir Gad, 35, plead guilty to two counts of securities fraud and was sentenced to 2 years of probation and $700 in fines and assessments. He was back in federal court on Tuesday to answer to the new charges.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Gad submitted 12 letters praising his good character prior to sentencing, but half were fake. Three of letters were complete fabrications and the remaining three had been altered by Gad to bolster references to his character.
It was a signer of one letter who subsequently informed the judge that her letter was embellished that led to the discovery that Gad had, in fact, submitted several fake letters. Judge Koh said, "What I considered and what I found to be very compelling about this [the signer's] letter, are lies that Mr. Gad put in the letter."
If convicted, Gad could face up to 25 years in prison and $1,000,000 in fines for document tampering and identity theft. There is no maximum penalty for criminal contempt. Gad's next appearance in court is Nov. 26.